I’ve had no real cycling goals for a couple of years now. I’ve simply been riding hard and having fun – and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that! It’s resulted in measurable fitness gains for sure, but I think it’s time I laid out some goals and a road map to getting there.

My short-term focus is going to be improving my time trialling. I’ve always loved time trialling even though I’ve never been any good at it. I don’t have a dedicated time trial bike either, but the Stealth is probably the next best thing:

Well it looks fast at least!

So far I’ve chosen three local courses to have a crack at. None are “official” time trial courses as it’s not overly popular here in Australia (unlike in the UK), they’re just Strava segment courses that I can use as a benchmark.

1) Penna Block 20km TT

Current best 38.02 @ 31.7kph. I haven’t ridden this course much so it’ll be interesting to see what improvements I can make. It’s very exposed and often hit by a stiff crosswind.  There is also a T-junction turn onto a busy highway followed by a power climb that needs to be negotiated twice along the course. As I’ve never “attacked” this course I think I can slash a fair bit of time off my current best, so I’m going to aim for a low 35 minute time (roughly a 34kph average).

2) Dodges Bakery Two Loops

Current best 28.57 @ 32.3kph. This is a very local loop I’ve ridden numerous times, sometimes at full tilt other times just cruising. I know it well. It has some technical sections and a few rolling lumps. Most of the traffic is light and there are minimal road junctions on the course. I’d like to shave 30 second off my time here, but really I just like using this loop for my regular solo training rides.

3) Airport 10 Mile TT

Current best 28.07 @ 34.5kph. This course is almost entirely pan flat apart from the 2km draggy uphill section at the start. It really favours those with big outright wattage rather than watts per kg (read: not me). The council have also created a slight diversion along the southern section (complete with chipseal surface) so it’s not as fast as it used to be. I only want to shave a handful of second off my current time at first, then see where I get to after that. I’ll be happy with a low-27 here for starters.

I doubt I’ll be setting and personal bests until the Spring so I’ve got a few months to get some solid training in. Most of that training will be inside on the turbo, with longer weekend rides when the winter weather allows. I’ll also work on the techy stuff like getting my aero position optimised. Hopefully I can net some power and aero gains to help me drop those segment times!

I hope you’re all enjoying your time on two wheels and progressing towards your cycling goals! :-)